The Buffalo Sabres got off to a quick start early in the game. Less than seven minutes in they took the lead. Zach Bogosian found a streaking Johan Larsson with a nice cross-ice pass. Larsson fired it by Jake Allen for his sixth of the season.
Larsson Goal
1-0 Buffalo pic.twitter.com/9DjDmbjIqn— Ben Mathewson (@Ben_Mathewson) March 17, 2019
In typical Sabres fashion, the Blues tied things up just a few minutes later. Pat Maroon was allowed to skate freely through the Sabres defensive zone and he got out front with ease to beat Carter Hutton.
The Sabres goaltender made a few nice saves after the goal on a push from the Blues. They’d get their lead back on a nice play by Evan Rodrigues.
Alex Nylander made a nice pass to start the breakout up the ice and Rodrigues stepped around Colton Parayko. He released a sneaky quick shot that surprised Allen to make it 2-1 after 20 minutes.
ERod goal replay 2 pic.twitter.com/0G1zeEtB0V
— Ben Mathewson (@Ben_Mathewson) March 17, 2019
It was a pretty sleepy start to the second period, but the Sabres increased their lead to two goals. Brandon Montour and Rasmus Dahlin connected on an excellent breakout sequence. Nylander and Conor Sheary were off on a two on one. Nylander made a nice pass across to Sheary for his second assist of the game.
Sheary Goal (👀 Dahlin breakout pass)
3-1 Buffalo pic.twitter.com/JFmVuoKUUz— Ben Mathewson (@Ben_Mathewson) March 17, 2019
The Blues, however, would get back within one again. Rasmus Ristolainen’s stick exploded (I know shocking) and the visitors were off the other direction. David Perron ripped a shot by Hutton to make it 3-2 and that’s how the period ended.
The first half of the first period wasn’t much to write home about, but the intensity picked up late. The fourth line of Kyle Okposo, Zemgus Girgensons, and Johan Larsson got the fans into it with a shift where they hit everything on the ice.
Both teams would proceed to exchange chances the final five minutes of the game, but nobody could break through.
We headed to overtime and Carter Hutton made a handful of nice saves to keep his club from losing their eighth straight game. The Sabres almost won it in the final seconds, but Sam Reinhart put his shot off the post and it was off to a shootout.
In the shootout, both Eichel and Reinhart scored. Hutton stopped two of the three Blues shooters, including Ryan O’Reilly to seal the victory for the Sabres.
Final: Sabres 4, Blues 3 (SO)
Shots on Goal: Sabres 34 | Blues 33
Sabres Goal Scorers: Johan Larsson (6), Evan Rodrigues (9), and Conor Sheary (13)
Blues Goal Scorers: Pat Maroon (7), David Perron (18), and Brayden Schenn(14)
Three Stars of the Game
1. Conor Sheary (1 G)
2. Alex Nylander (2 A)
3. Brandon Montour (1 A)